Type-51a Páoxiāo de léi shēng RGL
TLDR: The Páo-shē is a gas-delayed blow-forward, semi-automatic 25mm grenade launcher fed from a 10 round detachable box magazine. The RGL is designed to be man portable and is roughly the size of a light machine gun. The 25mm grenades are graze-fuzed, the fuze won't active for a short time after firing to help prevent the user from killing himself. It comes with a folding stock, foregrip, and a bipod. As a stretch goal it has a field conversion kit that can install a crank trigger and belt feed.
The Páo-shē repeating grenade launcher is designed to fill the void created by our inability to make use of machine guns. It's designed to fire a large volume of 25mm grenades to suppress and eliminate hostile forces. In order to avoid the use of a complex "high-low" system the RGL makes use of a gas-delayed blow-forward operation to maximize barrel length. Like all blow-forward system rather then the receiver moving the barrel instead move forward to cycle the gun. The gas delay is created by a chamber in front of the barrel's rear position. When fired the gas from the round fills this chamber and, when combined with the force of the recoil spring to keep the action closed. Once the projectile leaves the weapon the gas can vent and the remaining recoil cycles the weapon. Thanks to being a blow-forward action the weapon only needs a very short receiver behind the barrel allowing the RGL to have a 650mm barrel with only a total 720mm length(sans stock).
It fires 25mm grenades with a graze fuze from a 10 round box magazine. The graze fuze is design to trigger the explosive charge on pretty much contact with any solid surface and, most importantly glancing hits on the ground. In order to reduce the likelihood of the user killing himself the fuze has a short delay before activating. It's fed from a 10 round double stack detachable box magazine located in front of the trigger guard. The weapon is semi-automatic and has recoil only slightly worst then our current bolt-action rifle. The muzzle velocity is lack-luster but, more then enough to give the weapon decent range and, an acceptable travel time. In order to keep it compact when not in use the weapon comes with a folding stock and, to improve control-ability it has a foregrip and bipod.
As a possible stretch goal the RGL has a static defense conversion kit. The kit works by removing the rear(stock, trigger group, receiver) of the weapon and replacing it. The replacement has a crank trigger and a belt feed. The feed works by a screw like feeder which removes the round from the belt and rotates it around until it pushes up on the magazine well. The crank trigger works in two way first it provides the power needed to remove the rounds from the belt. When trigger of the pistol grip in back of the new receiver is pressed it also fires the weapon about every 1/3 of a rotation. To complete the kit it also includes a heavy-duty tripod to anchor the weapon.
Hard Difficulty: 5The
Type-51a Páoxiāo de léi shēng RGL, other than having a frightful number of diacritical marks, is the first repeating grenade launcher in the world.
It fires 25 mm rounds out of a 10 round box magazine and comes with a solid wooden stock and a foregrip, with optional bipod. It is a semi-automatic launcher with a blow-forward system that moves the entire barrel forward (as opposed to the bolt) and the rounds feature inertia-activated graze-fuze detonators, with a half-second arming fuze. The Páo-shē can be easily converted into a stationary emplacement with a tripod and belt-fed magazine. Effective range can reach out to 300 meters.
A number of issues are inherent with the Type-51a Páo-shē that simply part of the design. The blow-forward system combined with the relatively large round size means recoil is high for the user, making rapid fire difficult to manage accurately. This recoil makes a folding stock unfeasible, which is why the design uses a sturdier wooden stock for greater stability and accuracy. But perhaps most importantly, the 25 mm round is - quite frankly - not a lot of explosive. It will struggle to penetrate Thin (10 mm) armor - it can do it, especially with multiple hits in the same general, but this is stymied by the meager 10-round box magazine. Furthermore, field testing shows that infantry are not particularly impressed with the Páo-shē as it is remarkably heavy, especially when the weight of the reloads are considered. An infantryman will have to give up his Xi-52 Dài-I rifle to use the Páo-shē in the field, limiting his ability to fight in closer range. The 25 mm explosive is still effective against enemy infantry, but for both the purposes of clearing large areas and defeating armor a much larger round would be preferred.
Functionality-wise, the Páo-shē has no issues with jamming or miss-fires, which is especially lucky considering live explosive rounds could get caught in the moving barrel. It will be ideal for replacing machine-gun nests, and should do quite nicely in a static defensive role. 2 Ore.
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Topic: Arms Race: Iron Behemoths - Toskesh - GAME OVER (Read 47252 times)